GOVS-LIONS POSTGAME NOTES

Notes following No. 20 Austin Peay's 49-39 win over North Alabama on Homecoming at Fortera Stadium in Clarksville, Tennessee.

FROM THE TOP

• Austin Peay won its sixth straight game, which is its longest winning streak since winning seven straight contests during the 2019 season.
• Austin Peay has scored 40 or more points in its last four games, which is the longest such streak in program history. 
• Austin Peay is outscoring opponents 275-131 on its six-game winning streak. 
• The Governors closed out a perfect 3-0 month in October and improved to 3-0 in United Athletic Conference play. 
• Quarterback Mike DiLiello threw six touchdown passes – to six different receivers – and tied the Austin Peay single-game passing touchdown record. 

CAPTAINS/COIN TOSS

• Captains Mike DiLiello, Jaden Lyles, Darius Richmond, and Tre Shackelford took the coin toss for the Governors. Jalen Armstrong, Sam Howard, Kam Thomas, and Jau'Von Young served as alternate captains. Jeremiah Collins served as Austin Peay's honorary team captain.
• Austin Peay won the coin toss for the second time this season and deferred until the second half. North Alabama elected to receive the opening kickoff. 
• Austin Peay improved to 2-6 at the opening coin toss this season and 15-21 under Scotty Walden. 
• The Governors are 2-0 this season and 12-3 under Walden when winning the opening coin toss.
• Weather in Clarksville at kickoff: 79 degrees, overcast, winds north at 8 mph.

SERIES UPDATE                      

• Austin Peay improved to 8-13 all-time against North Alabama and picked up their second-consecutive win over the Lions. 
• The Govs are now 5-6 all-time against UNA in Clarksville. 

WALDEN; OR, LIFE AT AUSTIN PEAY

• Austin Peay secured its third straight winning season, its fifth winning season since 2017, and the 23rd winning season in program history. 
• It is the third straight season the Govs have posted a winning season under Scotty Walden, who becomes the third head coach in program history with three consecutive winning seasons, joining Bill Dupes (1964-66) and Dave Aaron (1948-50).

THOSE ARE THE BREAKS

• Austin Peay improved to 4-0 this season and 17-3 under Walden when leading at halftime. 
• The Governors improved to 4-0 this season and 18-3 under Walden when leading after three quarters. 

OFFENSIVE SPARKS

• Austin Peay racked up 520 yards of total offense, its third game with 500-plus yards of total offense this season. 
• DiLiello's six touchdown passes are also tied for the best single-game total in the FCS this season. 
• DiLiello's six touchdown throws to six different receivers topped the five touchdown passes to five different receivers in the Govs' 63-3 win over ETSU, Sept. 16.
• DiLiello threw for 353 yards, it was his fourth 300-yard game of the season and extended his program record of 300-yard passing games to seven.
• DiLiello completed 20-of-25 passes for an 80-percent completion percentage, his second-best mark of the year behind his 80.4-percent outing against ETSU. 
• With 4,373 passing yards in his Austin Peay career, DiLiello ranks fourth in program history and is just 81 yards behind JaVaughn Craig for third in APSU history. 
• With six touchdown passes against UNA, DiLiello moved past JaVaughn Craig and now ranks second in program history with 42 touchdown passes in his APSU career. DiLiello is just six touchdowns behind Brain Baker for the Austin Peay career passing touchdown record. 
• DiLiello's 21 passing touchdowns this season equals his mark from the 2022 season and is tied for the third-best season total in APSU history. 
• DiLiello's 2,279 passing yards this season already ranks as the fifth-best single-season mark in program history. 
• Jevon Jackson rushed for 160 yards; it was his fourth 100-yard game in the Govs' last five contests – it was also the third time he has topped 150 yards on the ground. 
• Trey Goodman had a career-best 129 receiving yards on five receptions, it was his second 100-yard outing of the season. 
• Goodman's 87-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter is the longest offensive play for the Govs this season, the longest reception in UAC history, and the first 80-yard reception by a Gov since Jaden Barnes had an 84-yard reception against ETSU. 
• Goodman now leads the Governors with six touchdown catches this season.
• Tre Shackelford caught his third touchdown of the season and now has a touchdown grab in back-to-back weeks. 
• Brenen Hawkins had a 59-yard receiving touchdown, it was his third touchdown catch of the season. 
• Khatib Lyles and Jordan Goco each caught their second touchdown of the season. 
• Jevon Jackson had his first career receiving touchdown on an 11-yard reception. 
• With Jackson's receiving touchdown, nine different Governors have caught a touchdown this season. 

DEFENSIVE STANDS          

• North Alabama rushed for just 57 yards, the fewest rushing yards allowed by the Governors since holding Murray State to just 34 yards on the ground in 2022. 
• The Governors' defense held their opponent to less than 100 rushing yards for the first time this season and the 12th time under Scotty Walden. 
• Austin Peay won for the second time this season – and second-straight week – with the defense not forcing a turnover. 
• Sam Howard led the Govs with 11 tackles, his second-best mark of the season behind his 13-tackle outing against Tennessee, Sept. 9. 
• Howard also had 2.0 tackles for loss and has a TFL in seven straight outings. 
• Xavier Smith had a career-best 10 tackles and a tackle for loss.  
• With Howard and Smith's double-digit tackle performances, the Govs have had 10 different double-digit tackle outings this season. 
• Cedarius Doss had 1.5 tackles for loss, it was his first TFL of the season. 
• Kory Chapman picked up his fourth tackle for loss of the season, he leads APSU defensive backs in that category. 
• Hosea Knifeley Jr. broke up a pass for the second-straight contest. 

SPECIAL TEAMS SYNOPSIS

• Maddux Trujillo connected on a 45-yard field goal, matching his season-long and improving to 3-for-3 from 40-plus yards this season.
• Trujillo also hit a 37-yard field goal and is 8-of-9 on field goal attempts this season. 
• Trujillo went 5-for-5 on PATs and moved into second in program history with 117 made PATs in his career. 
• With 33 made field goals in his career, Trujillo ties Tom McMillan for the second-most field goals in program history. He is just two makes behind Stephen Stansell for the program record. 
• Riley Stephens averaged 48.2 yards on his four punts, his second-best mark of the season and the sixth-best single-game mark in APSU history.
• Stephens has not finished a game below 40 yards per punt this season.  
• Kam Thomas returned one punt for 15 yards and two kicks for 44 yards. 
• Thomas eclipsed the 500-yard mark in combined kick returns this season and has 538 combined kick return yards this season. 

GOVS-LIONS POSTGAME QUOTES

Austin Peay head coach Scotty Walden

Opening Statement… "Obviously game pressure is a real thing. I am not going to lie to y'all and tell you that we knew we had it. You feel the pressure, but I feel like it is the mark of a great team that when game pressure swings and the other team gains favor [that you] withstand that pressure. I thought we did that tonight, just like last week with Southern Utah."

On this week's message… "I know it sounds cliche but 1-0. We have also been using the word 'now' a lot. Our focus is on the now, it's got to be on the right now. If a team has us down 48-nothing, you can never count that other team out. It's all about the right now, what are we doing right now. I think as long as you keep it like that, and you just focus right there in the moment, you can't worry about the end result, you have got to worry about the process."

On the season's final three games… "We are going to flip our mindset a little in the next 3 weeks. It may be a tough stretch down the way, but I will tell you that those three teams have a hard time coming up because they got the Govs on the schedule. I think that is how we are going to start acting, not in a cocky way but in a confident way, because I think this team is a winner and I think this place is a winner, and when people see us on the schedule they need to look twice because they are going to get a physical battle. We are going to flush this one out tomorrow we are going to learn and grow, and we are going to get ready for an EKU football team."

Austin Peay quarterback Mike DiLiello

On the second half… "It was a lot of self-inflicted wounds; we had personal fouls that pulled us back and a couple of delay of games. We executed at a high level in the first half, hit a lull in the third quarter, and ended up thankfully putting together a big-time six-minute drive in the fourth quarter to seal it up."

On the message last week… "Our practices on Sunday are called 'Flush Sunday' so we flush it no matter what. Obviously, that was an emotional game. We told the guys what happened last week was awesome we celebrated Sunday and had that day off Monday but after that, it is flushed. It's a new team and opponent each week and we have to prepare for them in the same way. One play at a time, one practice at a time, and one game at a time."

On if the offense has another level… "Absolutely, I mean you see week in and week out. You go from the Lindenwood game, we score 28 points in the first quarter, and we score, I think maybe one touchdown in the second quarter. Then you go to the Southern Utah game, we scored zero points in the second quarter, and then you go to this game. I think we scored 10 points in the second half. We are putting up 40 points, if we put that full game together, it's going to be another gear for sure. That's the part I'm kind of trying to preach to these guys, is that we haven't even hit our top gear yet. We're still in third gear. We haven't even hit that fifth and sixth gear yet, so I'm excited to see when that happens."